CHAPTER V.

NEW MEXICANS.

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF THIS GROUP, AND PHYSICAL FEATURES

OF THE TERRITORY--FAMILY DIVISIONS: APACHES, PUEBLOS, LOWER

CALIFORNIANS, AND NORTHERN MEXICANS--THE APACHE FAMILY:

COMANCHES, APACHES PROPER, HUALAPAIS, YUMAS, COSNINOS,

YAMPAIS, YALCHEDUNES, YAMAJABS, COCHEES, CRUZADOS, NIJORAS,

NAVAJOS, MOJAVES, AND THEIR CUSTOMS--THE PUEBLO FAMILY:

PUEBLOS, MOQUIS, PIMAS, MARICOPAS, PAPAGOS, AND THEIR

NEIGHBOURS--THE COCHIMIS, WAICURIS, PERICUIS, AND OTHER

LOWER CALIFORNIANS--THE SERIS, SINALOAS, TARAHUMARES,

CONCHOS, TEPEHUANES, TOBOSOS, ACAXES, AND OTHERS IN

NORTHERN MEXICO.

The NEW MEXICANS, under which name I group the nations of New Mexico,

Arizona, Lower California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango,

Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, northern Zacatecas, and western Texas, present

some peculiarities not hitherto encountered in this work. As a groupal

designation, this name is neither more nor less appropriate than some

others; all I claim for it is that it appears as fit as any. The term

Mexican might with propriety be applied to this group, as the majority

of its people live within the Mexican boundary, but that word is

employed in the next division, which is yet more strictly of Mexico.

The territory of the New Mexicans, which lies for the most part between

the parallels 36° and 23° and the meridians 96° and 117°, presents a

great diversity of climate and aspect. On reaching the northern

extremity of the Gulf of California, the Sierra Nevada and coast ranges

of mountains join and break up into detached upheavals, or as they

are called 'lost mountains'; one part, with no great elevation,

continuing through the peninsula, another, under the name of Sierra

Madre, extending along the western side of Mexico. The Rocky Mountains,

which separate into two ranges at about the forty-fifth parallel,

continue southward, one branch, known in Utah as the Wahsatch, merging

into the Sierra Madre, while the other, the great Cordillera, stretches

along the eastern side of Mexico, uniting again with the Sierra Madre in

the Mexican table-land. Besides these are many detached and intersecting

ranges, between which lie arid deserts, lava beds, and a few fertile

valleys. From the sterile sandy deserts which cover vast areas of this

territory, rise many isolated groups of almost inaccessible peaks, some

of which are wooded, thus affording protection and food for man and

beast. Two great rivers, the Colorado and the Rio Grande del Norte flow

through this region, one on either side, but, except in certain spots,

they contribute little to the fertilization of the country. In the more

elevated parts the climate is temperate, sometimes in winter severely

cold; but on the deserts and plains, with the scorching sun above and

the burning sand beneath, the heat is almost insupportable. The scanty

herbage, by which the greater part of this region is covered, offers to

man but a transient food-supply; hence he must move from place to place

or starve. Thus nature, more than elsewhere on our coast, invites to a

roving life; and, as on the Arabian deserts, bands of American Bedouins

roam over immense tracts seeking what they may devour. Here it is that

many a luckless miner and ill-protected traveler pays the penalty of his

temerity with his life; here it is, more than elsewhere within the

temperate zones of the two Americas, that the natives bid defiance to

the encroachments of civilization. Sweeping down upon small settlements

and isolated parties, these American Arabs rob, murder, and destroy,

then fleeing to their strongholds bid defiance to pursuers. In the midst

of all this we find another phenomenon in the semi-civilized

towns-people of New Mexico and Arizona; a spontaneous awakening from

the ruder phases of savagism.

The families of this division may be enumerated as follows: The

_Apaches_, under which general name I include all the savage tribes

roaming through New Mexico, the north-western portion of Texas, a small

part of northern Mexico, and Arizona; the _Pueblos_, or partially

cultivated towns-people of New Mexico and Arizona, with whom I unite,

though not town-builders, the non-nomadic Pimas, Maricopas and Pápagos

of the lower Gila River; the _Lower Californians_, who occupy the

peninsula; and the _Northern Mexicans_, which term includes the various

nations scattered over the States of Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua,

Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and northern Zacatecas.

[Sidenote: THE APACHES.]

To the APACHES, using the term in the signification of a family of this

division, no accurate boundaries can be assigned. Owing to their roving

proclivities and incessant raids they are led first in one direction and

then in another. In general terms they may be said to range about as

follows: The _Comanches_, Jetans, or Nauni, consisting of three tribes,

the Comanches proper, the Yamparacks, and Tenawas, inhabiting northern

Texas, eastern Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Durango, and portions of

south-western New Mexico,[636] by language allied to the Shoshone

family;[637] the _Apaches_, who call themselves Shis Inday, or 'men of

the woods,'[638] and whose tribal divisions are the Chiricaguis,

Coyoteros, Faraones, Gileños, Lipanes, Llaneros, Mescaleros, Mimbreños,

Natages, Pelones, Pinaleños, Tejuas, Tontos and Vaqueros, roaming over

New Mexico, Arizona, north-western Texas, Chihuahua and Sonora,[639] and

who are allied by language to the great Tinneh family;[640] the

_Navajos_, or Tenuai, 'men,' as they designate themselves, having

linguistic affinities with the Apache nation, with which indeed they

are sometimes classed, living in and around the Sierra de los

Mimbres;[641] the _Mojaves_, occupying both banks of the Colorado in

Mojave Valley; the _Hualapais_, near the headwaters of Bill Williams

Fork; the _Yumas_, on the east bank of the Colorado, near its junction

with the Rio Gila;[642] the _Cosninos_, who like the Hualapais are

sometimes included in the Apache nation, ranging through the Mogollon

Mountains;[643] and the _Yampais_, between Bill Williams Fork and the

Rio Hassayampa.[644] Of the multitude of names mentioned by the early

Spanish authorities, I only give in addition to the above the

_Yalchedunes_, located on the west bank of the Colorado in about

latitude 33° 20´, the _Yamajabs_, on the east bank of the same river, in

about latitude 34°-35°; the _Cochees_, in the Chiricagui Mountains of

Arizona, the _Cruzados_[645] in New Mexico, and finally the

_Nijoras_,[646] somewhere about the lower Colorado.[647]

The Apache country is probably the most desert of all, alternating

between sterile plains and wooded mountains, interspersed with

comparatively few rich valleys. The rivers do little to fertilize the

soil except in spots; the little moisture that appears is quickly

absorbed by the cloudless air and arid plains which stretch out,

sometimes a hundred miles in length and breadth, like lakes of sand. In

both mountain and desert the fierce, rapacious Apache, inured from

childhood to hunger and thirst, and heat and cold, finds safe retreat.

It is here, among our western nations, that we first encounter thieving

as a profession. No savage is fond of work; indeed, labor and savagism

are directly antagonistic, for if the savage continues to labor he can

but become civilized. Now the Apache is not as lazy as some of his

northern brothers, yet he will not work, or if he does, like the Pueblos

who are nothing but partially reclaimed Apaches or Comanches, he

forthwith elevates himself, and is no longer an Apache; but being

somewhat free from the vice of laziness, though subject in an eminent

degree to all other vices of which mankind have any knowledge, he

presents the anomaly of uniting activity with barbarism, and for this he

must thank his thievish propensities. Leaving others to do the work, he

cares not whom, the agriculturists of the river-bottoms or the

towns-people of the north, he turns Ishmaelite, pounces upon those near

and more remote, and if pursued retreats across the _jornadas del

muerte_, or 'journeys of death' as the Mexican calls them, and finds

refuge in the gorges, cañons, and other almost impregnable natural

fortresses of the mountains.

[Sidenote: PHYSIQUE OF APACHES.]

[Sidenote: PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES.]

The disparity in physical appearance between some of these nations,

which may be attributed for the most part to diet, is curious. While

those who subsist on mixed vegetable and animal food, present a tall,

healthy, and muscular development, hardly excelled by the Caucasian

race, those that live on animal food, excepting perhaps the Comanches,

are small in stature, wrinkled, shriveled, and hideously ugly.[648] All

the natives of this family, with the exception of the Apaches proper,

are tall, well-built, with muscles strongly developed, pleasing

features, although at times rather broad faces, high foreheads, large,

clear, dark-colored eyes, possessing generally extraordinary powers of

vision, black coarse hair and, for a wonder, beards. Taken as a whole,

they are the most perfect specimens of physical manhood that we have yet

encountered. While some, and particularly females, are of a light copper

color, others again approach near to the dark Californian. Women are

generally plumper, inclining more to obesity than the men. Some comely

girls are spoken of amongst them, but they grow old early.[649] In

contradistinction to all this the Apaches proper, or Apache nation, as

we may call them, are slim, ill developed, but very agile. Their height

is about five feet four to five inches; features described as ugly,

repulsive, emotionless, flat, and approaching the Mongol cast, while the

head is covered with an unkempt mass of coarse, shocky, rusty black

hair, not unlike bristles. The women are not at all behind the men in

ugliness, and a pleasing face is a rarity. A feature common to the

family is remarkably small feet; in connection with which may be

mentioned the peculiarity which obtains on the lower Colorado, of having

the large toe widely separated from the others, which arises probably

from wading in marshy bottoms. All the tribes whose principal

subsistence is meat, and more particularly those that eat horse and mule

flesh, are said to exhale a peculiar scent, something like the animals

themselves when heated.[650]

[Sidenote: DRESS OF APACHES AND MOJAVES.]

All the natives of this region wear the hair much in the same manner,

cut square across the forehead, and flowing behind.[651] The Mojave men

usually twist or plait it, while with the women it is allowed to hang

loose. Tattooing is common, but not universal; many of the Mojave women

tattoo the chin in vertical lines like the Central Californians, except

that the lines are closer together.[652] Paint is freely used among the

Mojaves, black and red predominating, but the Apaches, Yumas, and others

use a greater variety of colors.[653] Breech-cloth and moccasins are the

ordinary dress of the men,[654] while the women have a short petticoat

of bark.[655] The dress of the Mojaves and Apaches is often more

pretentious, being a buckskin shirt, skull-cap or helmet, and moccasins

of the same material; the latter, broad at the toes, slightly turned up,

and reaching high up on the leg, serve as a protection against cacti and

thorns.[656] It is a common practice among these tribes to plaster the

head and body with mud, which acts as a preventive against vermin and a

protection from the sun's rays.[657] In their selection of ornaments

the Mojaves show a preference for white, intermixed with blue; necklaces

and bracelets made from beads and small shells, usually strung together,

but sometimes sewed on to leather bands are much in vogue. The Apache

nation adopt a more fantastic style in painting and in their head-dress;

for ornament they employ deer-hoofs, shells, fish-bones, beads, and

occasionally porcupine-quills, with which the women embroider their

short deer-skin petticoats.[658] The Navajoes, both men and women, wear

the hair long, tied or clubbed up behind; they do not tattoo or

disfigure themselves with paint.[659] The ordinary dress is a species of

hunting-shirt, or doublet, of deer-skin, or a blanket confined at the

waist by a belt; buckskin breeches, sometimes ornamented up the seams

with pieces of silver or porcupine-quills; long moccasins, reaching well

up the leg, and a round helmet-shaped cap, also of buckskin, surmounted

with a plume of eagle or wild turkey feathers, and fastened with a

chin-strap. The women wear a blanket and waist-belt, breeches and

moccasins. The belts, which are of buckskin, are frequently richly

ornamented with silver. They sometimes also use porcupine-quills, with

which they embroider their garments.[660]

[Sidenote: COMANCHE DRESS AND ORNAMENT.]

The Comanches of both sexes tattoo the face, and body generally on the

breast.[661] The men do not cut the hair, but gather it into tufts or

plaits, to which they attach round pieces of silver graduated in size

from top to bottom; those who cannot obtain or afford silver use beads,

tin, or glass.[662] Much time is spent by them in painting and adorning

their person--red being a favorite color; feathers also form a necessary

adjunct to their toilet.[663] Some few wear a deer-skin shirt, but the

more common dress is the buffalo-robe, which forms the sole covering for

the upper part of the body; in addition, the breech-cloth, leggins, and

moccasins are worn. The women crop the hair short, and a long shirt made

of deer-skin, which extends from the neck to below the knees, with

leggins and moccasins, are their usual attire.[664]

[Sidenote: DWELLINGS OF THE APACHES.]

Nomadic and roving in their habits, they pay little attention to the

construction of their dwellings. Seldom do they remain more than a week

in one locality;[665] hence their lodges are comfortless, and

diversified in style according to caprice and circumstances. The

frame-work everywhere is usually of poles, the Comanches placing them

erect, the Lipans bringing the tops together in cone-shape, while the

Apaches bend them over into a low oval;[666] one or other of the above

forms is usually adopted by all this family,[667] with unimportant

differences depending on locality and variations of climate. The

framework is covered with brushwood or skins, sometimes with grass or

flat stones. They are from twelve to eighteen feet in diameter at the

widest part, and vary from four to eight feet in height,[668] which is

sometimes increased by excavation.[669] A triangular opening serves as a

door, which is closed with a piece of cloth or skin attached to the

top.[670] When on or near rocky ground they live in caves, whence some

travelers have inferred that they build stone houses.[671] A few of the

Mojave dwellings are so superior to the others that they deserve special

notice. They may be described as a sort of shed having perpendicular

walls and sloping roof, the latter supported by a horizontal beam

running along the center, the roof projecting in front so as to form a

kind of portico. The timber used is cottonwood, and the interstices are

filled up with mud or straw.[672] None of their houses have windows, the

door and smoke-hole in the roof serving for this purpose; but, as many

of them have their fires outside, the door is often the only

opening.[673]

[Sidenote: NEW MEXICAN DWELLINGS.]

Small huts about three feet in height constitute their medicine-lodges,

or bath-houses, and are generally in form and material like their other

structures.[674] The Mojaves also build granaries in a cylindrical form

with conical, skillfully made osier roofs.[675]

[Sidenote: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE.]

The food of all is similar;[676] most of them make more or less

pretentions to agriculture, and are habituated to a vegetable diet, but

seldom do any of them raise a sufficient supply for the year's

consumption, and they are therefore forced to rely on the mesquit-bean,

the piñon-nut and the maguey-plant, _agave mexicana_, and other wild

fruits, which they collect in considerable quantities.[677] They are but

indifferent hunters, and secure only a precarious supply of small game,

such as rabbits and squirrels, with ultimate recourse to rats,

grasshoppers, lizards and other reptiles.[678] A few fish are taken by

those living in the neighborhood of rivers.[679] The Navajos, Mojaves,

and Yumas, have long been acquainted with the art of agriculture and

grow corn, beans, pumpkins, melons, and other vegetables, and also some

wheat; some attempt a system of irrigation, and others select for their

crops that portion of land which has been overflowed by the river. The

Navajos possess numerous flocks of sheep, which though used for food,

they kill only when requiring the wool for blankets. Although in later

years they have cows, they do not make butter or cheese, but only a curd

from sour milk, from which they express the whey and of which they are

very fond.[680]

Their method of planting is simple; with a short sharp-pointed stick

small holes are dug in the ground into which they drop the seeds, and no

further care is given to the crop except to keep it partially free from

weeds.[681]

Maize soaked in water is ground to a paste between two stones. From this

paste tortillas, or thin cakes, are made which are baked on a hot stone.

To cook the maguey, a hole is made in the ground, in which a fire is

kindled; after it has burned some time the maguey-bulb is buried in the

hot ashes and roasted. Some concoct a gypsy sort of dish or ollapodrida;

game, and such roots or herbs as they can collect, being put in an

earthen pot with water and boiled.[682]

As before mentioned, the roving Apaches obtain most of their food by

hunting and plunder; they eat more meat and less vegetable diet than the

other Arizona tribes. They have a great partiality for horse-flesh,

seldom eat fish, but kill deer and antelope.[683] When hunting they

frequently disguise themselves in a skin, and imitating closely the

habits and movements of the animal, they contrive to approach within

shooting-distance.[684] Whether it be horse or deer, every portion of

the carcass with the exception of the bones, is consumed, the entrails

being a special delicacy. Their meat they roast partially in the fire,

and eat it generally half raw. When food is plenty they eat ravenously

and consume an enormous quantity; when scarce, they fast long and

stoically. Most of them hate bear-meat and pork. So Jew-like is the

Navajo in this particular that he will not touch pork though

starving.[685]

[Sidenote: BUFFALO HUNTING.]

The Comanches do not cultivate the soil, but subsist entirely by the

chase. Buffalo, which range in immense herds throughout their country,

are the chief food, the only addition to it being a few wild plants and

roots; hence they may be said to be almost wholly flesh-eaters.[686] In

pursuit of the buffalo they exhibit great activity, skill, and daring.

When approaching a herd, they advance in close column, gradually

increasing their speed, and as the distance is lessened, they separate

into two or more groups, and dashing into the herd at full gallop,

discharge their arrows right and left with great rapidity; others hunt

buffalo with spears, but the common and more fatal weapon is the bow and

arrow. The skinning and cutting up of the slain animals is usually the

task of the women.[687] The meat and also the entrails are eaten both

raw and roasted. A fire being made in a hole, sticks are ranged round

it, meeting at the top, on which the meat is placed. The liver is a

favorite morsel, and is eaten raw; they also drink the warm blood of the

animal.[688] No provision is made for a time of scarcity, but when many

buffalo are killed, they cut portions of them into long strips, which,

after being dried in the sun, are pounded fine. This pemican they carry

with them in their hunting expeditions, and when unsuccessful in the

chase, a small quantity boiled in water or cooked with grease, serves

for a meal. When unable to procure game, they sometimes kill their

horses and mules for food, but this only when compelled by

necessity.[689] In common with all primitive humanity they are

filthy--never bathing except in summer[690]--with little or no sense of

decency.[691]

[Sidenote: WEAPONS.]

[Sidenote: BOW AND LANCE.]

Throughout Arizona and New Mexico, the bow and arrow is the principal

weapon, both in war and in the chase; to which are added, by those

accustomed to move about on horseback, the shield and lance;[692] with

such also the Mexican riata may now occasionally be seen.[693] In

battle, the Colorado River tribes use a club made of hard heavy wood,

having a large mallet-shaped head, with a small handle, through which a

hole is bored, and in which a leather thong is introduced for the

purpose of securing it in the hand.[694] They seldom use the tomahawk.

Some carry slings with four cords attached.[695] The bows are made of

yew, bois d'arc, or willow, and strengthened by means of deer-sinews,

firmly fastened to the back with a strong adhesive mixture. The length

varies from four to five feet. The string is made from sinews of the

deer.[696] A leathern arm-guard is worn round the left wrist to defend

it from the blow of the string.[697] The arrows measure from twenty to

thirty inches, according to length of bow, and the shaft is composed of

two pieces; the notch end, which is the longer, consisting of a reed,

into which is fitted a shorter piece made of acacia, or some other hard

wood, and tipped with obsidian, agate, or iron. It is intended that when

an object is struck, and an attempt is made to draw out the arrow, the

pointed end shall remain in the wound. There is some difference in the

feathering; most nations employing three feathers, tied round the shaft

at equal distances with fine tendons. The Tontos have their arrows

winged with four feathers, while some of the Comanches use only two. All

have some distinguishing mark in their manner of winging, painting, or

carving on their arrows.[698] The quiver is usually made of the skin of

some animal, deer or sheep, sometimes of a fox or wild-cat skin entire

with the tail appended, or of reeds, and carried slung at the back or

fastened to a waist-belt.[699] The lance is from twelve to fifteen feet

long, the point being a long piece of iron, a knife or sword blade

socketed into the pole.[700] Previous to the introduction of iron,

their spears were pointed with obsidian or some other flinty substance

which was hammered and ground to a sharp edge. The frame of the shield

is made of light basket-work, covered with two or three thicknesses of

buffalo-hide; between the layers of hide it is usual with the Comanches

to place a stuffing of hair, thus rendering them almost bullet proof.

Shields are painted in various devices and decorated with feathers,

pieces of leather, and other finery, also with the scalps of enemies,

and are carried on the left arm by two straps.[701]

[Sidenote: APACHE WARRIORS.]

Their fighting has more the character of assassination and murder than

warfare. They attack only when they consider success a foregone

conclusion, and rather than incur the risk of losing a warrior will for

days lie in ambush till a fair opportunity for surprising the foe

presents itself.[702] The ingenuity of the Apache in preparing an ambush

or a surprise is described by Colonel Cremony as follows: "He has as

perfect a knowledge of the assimilation of colors as the most

experienced Paris modiste. By means of his acumen in this respect, he

can conceal his swart body amidst the green grass, behind brown shrubs,

or gray rocks, with so much address and judgment that any but the

experienced would pass him by without detection at the distance of three

or four yards. Sometimes they will envelop themselves in a gray blanket,

and by an artistic sprinkling of earth, will so resemble a granite

boulder as to be passed within near range without suspicion. At others,

they will cover their persons with freshly gathered grass, and lying

prostrate, appear as a natural portion of the field. Again they will

plant themselves among the Yuccas, and so closely imitate the appearance

of that tree as to pass for one of its species."

Before undertaking a raid they secrete their families in the mountain

fastnesses, or elsewhere, then two by two, or in greater numbers, they

proceed by different routes, to a place of rendezvous, not far from

where the assault is to be made or where the ambuscade is to be

prepared. When, after careful observation, coupled with the report of

their scouts, they are led to presume that little, if any, resistance

will be offered them, a sudden assault is made, men, women and children

are taken captives, and animals and goods secured, after which their

retreat is conducted in an orderly and skillful manner, choosing

pathways over barren and rugged mountains which are known only to

themselves.[703] Held asunder from congregating in large bodies by a

meagerness of provisions, they have recourse to a system of signals

which facilitates intercourse with each other. During the day one or

more columns of smoke are the signals made for the scattered and

roaming bands to rendezvous, or they serve as a warning against

approaching danger. To the same end at night they used a fire beacon;

besides these, they have various other means of telegraphing which are

understood only by them, for example, the displacement and arrangement

of a few stones on the trail, or a bended twig, is to them a note of

warning as efficient, as is the bugle-call to disciplined troops.[704]

They treat their prisoners cruelly; scalping them, or burning them at

the stake; yet, ruled as they are by greediness, they are always ready

to exchange them for horses, blankets, beads, or other property. When

hotly pursued, they murder their male prisoners, preserving only the

females and children, and the captured cattle, though under desperate

circumstances they do not hesitate to slaughter the latter.[705] The

Apaches returning to their families from a successful expedition, are

received by the women with songs and feasts, but if unsuccessful they

are met with jeers and insults. On such occasions says Colonel Cremony,

"the women turn away from them with assured indifference and contempt.

They are upbraided as cowards, or for want of skill and tact, and are

told that such men should not have wives, because they do not know how

to provide for their wants. When so reproached, the warriors hang their

heads and offer no excuse for their failure. To do so would only subject

them to more ridicule and objurgation; but Indian-like, they bide their

time in the hope of finally making their peace by some successful raid."

If a Mojave is taken prisoner he is forever discarded in his own nation,

and should he return his mother even will not own him.[706]

[Sidenote: COMANCHE WARRIORS.]

The Comanches, who are better warriors than the Apaches, highly honor

bravery on the battle-field. From early youth, they are taught the art

of war, and the skillful handling of their horses and weapons; and they

are not allowed a seat in the council, until their name is garnished by

some heroic deed.[707] Before going on the war-path they perform certain

ceremonies, prominent among which is the war-dance.[708] They invariably

fight on horseback with the bow and arrow, spear and shield, and in the

management of these weapons they have no superiors.

Their mode of attack is sudden and impetuous; they advance in column,

and when near the enemy form subdivisions charging on the foe

simultaneously from opposite sides, and while keeping their horses in

constant motion, they throw themselves over the side, leaving only a

small portion of the body exposed, and in this position discharge their

arrows over the back of the animal or under his neck with great rapidity

and precision.[709] A few scalps are taken, for the purpose of being

used at the war or scalp dance by which they celebrate a victory.

Prisoners belong to the captors and the males are usually killed, but

women are reserved and become the wives or servants of their owners,

while children of both sexes are adopted into the tribe.[710] Peace

ceremonies take place at a council of warriors, when the pipe is passed

round and smoked by each, previous to which an interchange of presents

is customary.[711]

[Sidenote: IMPLEMENTS.]

Household utensils are made generally of wickerwork, or straw, which, to

render them watertight, are coated with some resinous substance. The

Mojaves and a few of the Apache tribes have also burnt-clay vessels,

such as water-jars and dishes.[712] For grinding maize, as before

stated, a kind of metate is used, which with them is nothing more than a

convex and a concave stone.[713] Of agricultural implements they know

nothing; a pointed stick, crooked at one end, which they call

_kishishai_, does service as a corn-planter in spring, and during the

later season answers also for plucking fruit from trees, and again, in

times of scarcity, to dig rats and prairie dogs from their subterranean

retreats. Their cradle is a flat board, padded, on which the infant is

fastened; on the upper part is a little hood to protect the head, and it

is carried by the mother on her back, suspended by a strap.[714] Their

saddles are simply two rolls of straw covered with deer or antelope

skin, which are connected by a strap; a piece of raw hide serves for

girths and stirrups. In later years the Mexican saddle, or one

approaching it in shape, has been adopted, and the Navajos have

succeeded in making a pretty fair imitation of it, of hard ash. Their

bridles, which consist of a rein attached to the lower jaw, are very

severe on the animal.[715] Although not essentially a fish-eating

people, the Mojaves and Axuas display considerable ingenuity in the

manufacture of fishing-nets, which are noted for their strength and

beauty. Plaited grass, or the fibry bark of the willow, are the

materials of which they are made.[716] Fire is obtained in the old

primitive fashion of rubbing together two pieces of wood, one soft and

the other hard. The hard piece is pointed and is twirled on the softer

piece, with a steady downward pressure until sparks appear.[717]

[Sidenote: NAVAJO BLANKETS.]

The Navajos excel all other nations of this family in the manufacture of

blankets.[718] The art with them is perhaps of Mexican origin, and they

keep for this industry large flocks of sheep.[719] Some say in making

blankets cotton is mixed with the wool, but I find no notice of their

cultivating cotton. Their looms are of the most primitive kind. Two

beams, one suspended and the other fastened to the ground, serve to

stretch the warp perpendicularly, and two slats, inserted between the

double warp, cross and recross it and also open a passage for the

shuttle, which is simply a short stick with some thread wound around it.

The operator sits on the ground, and the blanket, as the weaving

progresses, is wound round the lower beam.[720] The wool, after being

carded, is spun with a spindle resembling a boy's top, the stem being

about sixteen inches long and the lower point made to revolve in an

earthen bowl by being twirled rapidly between the forefinger and thumb.

The thread after being twisted is wound on the spindle, and though not

very even, it answers the purpose very well.[721] The patterns are

mostly regular geometrical figures, among which diamonds and parallels

predominate.[722] Black and red are the principal variations in color,

but blue and yellow are at times seen. Their colors they obtain mostly

by dyeing with vegetable substances, but in later years they obtain also

colored manufactured materials from the whites, which they again

unravel, employing the colored threads obtained in this manner in their

own manufactures.[723] They also weave a coarse woolen cloth, of which

they at times make shirts and leggins.[724] Besides pottery of burnt

clay, wickerwork baskets, and saddles and bridles, no general industry

obtains in this family.[725] Featherwork, such as sewing various

patterns on skins with feathers, and other ornamental needlework, are

also practiced by the Navajos.[726]

Of the Comanches, the Abbé Domenech relates that they extracted silver

from some mines near San Saba, from which they manufactured ornaments

for themselves and their saddles and bridles.[727]

[Sidenote: PROPERTY.]

They have no boats, but use rafts of wood, or bundles of rushes fastened

tightly together with osier or willow twigs, and propelled sometimes

with poles; but more frequently they place upon the craft their property

and wives, and, swimming alongside of it, with the greatest ease push it

before them.[728] For their maintenance, especially in latter days, they

are indebted in a great measure to their horses, and accordingly they

consider them as their most valuable property. The Navajos are larger

stock owners than any of the other nations, possessing numerous flocks

of sheep, and herds of cattle as well as horses and mules. These, with

their blankets, their dressed skins, and peaches which they cultivate,

constitute their chief wealth.[729] Certain bands of the Apache nation

exchange with the agriculturists pottery and skins for grain.[730] Among

the Navajos, husband and wife hold their property separate, and at their

death it becomes the inheritance of the nephew or niece. This law of

entail is often eluded by the parents, who before death give their goods

to their children.[731] Their exchanges are governed by caprice rather

than by established values. Sometimes they will give a valuable blanket

for a trifling ornament. The Mojaves have a species of currency which

they call _pook_, consisting of strings of shell beads, whose value is

determined by the length.[732] At the time of Coronado's expedition, in

1540, the Comanches possessed great numbers of dogs, which they employed

in transporting their buffalo-skin tents and scanty household

utensils.[733] When a buffalo is killed, the successful hunter claims

only the hide; the others are at liberty to help themselves to the meat

according to their necessities.[734] In their trading transactions they

display much shrewdness, and yet are free from the tricks usually

resorted to by other nations.[735]

[Sidenote: ARTS AND CALENDAR.]

Their knowledge of decorative art is limited; paintings and sculptures

of men and animals, rudely executed on rocks or walls of caverns are

occasionally met with; whether intended as hieroglyphical

representations, or sketched during the idle moments of some budding

genius, it is difficult to determine, owing to the fact that the

statements of the various authors who have investigated the subject are

conflicting.[736] The Comanches display a certain taste in painting

their buffalo-robes, shields, and tents. The system of enumeration of

the Apaches exhibits a regularity and diffusiveness seldom met with

amongst wild tribes, and their language contains all the terms for

counting up to ten thousand.[737] In this respect the Comanches are very

deficient; what little knowledge of arithmetic they have is decimal, and

when counting, the aid of their fingers or presence of some actual

object is necessary, being, as they are, in total ignorance of the

simplest arithmetical calculation. The rising sun proclaims to them a

new day; beyond this they have no computation or division of time. They

know nothing of the motions of the earth or heavenly bodies, though they

recognise the fixedness of the polar star.[738]

Their social organization, like all their manners and customs, is

governed by their wild and migratory life. Government they have none.

Born and bred with the idea of perfect personal freedom, all restraint

is unendurable.[739] The nominal authority vested in the war chief, is

obtained by election, and is subordinate to the council of

warriors.[740] Every father holds undisputed sway over his children

until the age of puberty. His power, importance, and influence at the

council-fire is determined by the amount of his slaves and other

property.[741] Those specially distinguished by their cunning and

prowess in war, or success in the chase, are chosen as chiefs.

[Sidenote: COMANCHE GOVERNMENT.]

A chief may at any time be deposed.[742] Sometimes it happens that one

family retains the chieftaincy in a tribe during several generations,

because of the bravery or wealth of the sons.[743] In time of peace but

little authority is vested in the chief; but on the war path, to ensure

success, his commands are implicitly obeyed. It also frequently happens

that chiefs are chosen to lead some particular war or marauding

expedition, their authority expiring immediately upon their return

home.[744]

Among the Comanches public councils are held at regular intervals during

the year, when matters pertaining to the common weal are discussed, laws

made, thefts, seditions, murders, and other crimes punished, and the

quarrels of warrior-chiefs settled. Smaller councils are also held, in

which, as well as in the larger ones, all are free to express their

opinion.[745] Questions laid before them are taken under consideration,

a long time frequently elapsing before a decision is made. Great care is

taken that the decrees of the meeting shall be in accordance with the

opinion and wishes of the majority. Laws are promulgated by a public

crier, who ranks next to the chief in dignity.[746]

Ancestral customs and traditions govern the decisions of the councils;

brute force, or right of the strongest, with the law of talion in its

widest acceptance, direct the mutual relations of tribes and

individuals.[747] Murder, adultery, theft, and sedition are punished

with death or public exposure, or settled by private agreement or the

interposition of elderly warriors. The doctor failing to cure his

patient must be punished by death. The court of justice is the council

of the tribe, presided over by the chiefs, the latter with the

assistance of sub-chiefs, rigidly executing judgment upon the

culprits.[748] All crimes may be pardoned but murder, which must pay

blood for blood if the avenger overtake his victim.[749]

All the natives of this family hold captives as slaves;[750] some treat

them kindly, employing the men as herders and marrying the women;

others half-starve and scourge them, and inflict on them the most

painful labors.[751] Nothing short of crucifixion, roasting by a slow

fire, or some other most excruciating form of death, can atone the crime

of attempted escape from bondage. They not only steal children from

other tribes and sell them, but carry on a most unnatural traffic in

their own offspring.[752]

[Sidenote: TREATMENT OF WOMEN.]

[Sidenote: MARRIAGE AND CHILD-BIRTH.]

Womankind as usual is not respected. The female child receives little

care from its mother, being only of collateral advantage to the tribe.

Later she becomes the beast of burden and slave of her husband. Some

celebrate the entry into womanhood with feasting and dancing.[753]

Courtship is simple and brief; the wooer pays for his bride and takes

her home.[754] Every man may have all the wives he can buy. There is

generally a favorite, or chief wife, who exercises authority over the

others. As polygamy causes a greater division of labor, the women do not

object to it.[755] Sometimes a feast of horse-flesh celebrates a

marriage.[756] All the labor of preparing food, tanning skins,

cultivating fields, making clothes, and building houses, falls to the

women, the men considering it beneath their dignity to do anything but

hunt and fight. The women feed and saddle the horses of their lords;

oftentimes they are cruelly beaten, mutilated, and even put to

death.[757] The marriage yoke sits lightly; the husband may repudiate

his wife at will and take back the property given for her; the wife may

abandon her husband, but by the latter act she covers him with such

disgrace that it may only be wiped out by killing somebody[758]--anybody

whom he may chance to meet. In the event of a separation the children

follow the mother. They are not a prolific race; indeed, it is but

seldom that a woman has more than three or four children. As usual

parturition is easy; but owing to unavoidable exposure many of their

infants soon die. The naming of the child is attended with superstitious

rites, and on reaching the age of puberty they never fail to change its

name.[759] Immediately after the birth of the child, it is fastened to a

small board, by bandages, and so carried for several months on the back

of the mother. Later the child rides on the mother's hip, or is carried

on her back in a basket or blanket, which in travelling on horseback is

fastened to the pommel of the saddle. Boys are early taught the use of

weapons, and early learn their superiority over girls, being seldom or

never punished.[760]

It is a singular fact that of all these people the thievish meat-eating

Apache is almost the only one who makes any pretentions to female

chastity. All authorities agree that the Apache women both before and

after marriage are remarkably pure.[761]

Yuma husbands for gain surrender not only their slaves, but their wives.

Hospitality carries with it the obligation of providing for the guest a

temporary wife. The usual punishment for infidelity is the mutilation of

the nose or ears, which disfigurement prevents the offender from

marrying, and commonly sends her forth as a public harlot in the

tribe.[762] The seducer can appease the anger of an injured husband by

presents, although before the law he forfeits his life. Even sodomy and

incestuous intercourse occur among them. Old age is dishonorable.[763]

[Sidenote: AMUSEMENTS.]

[Sidenote: SMOKING AND DANCING.]

They are immoderately fond of smoking, drinking, feasting, and

amusements which fill up the many hours of idleness. Dancing and

masquerading is the most favorite pastime. They have feasts with dances

to celebrate victories, feasts given at marriage, and when girls attain

the age of puberty; a ceremonial is observed at the burial of noted

warriors, and on other various occasions of private family life, in

which both men and women take part. The dance is performed by a single

actor or by a number of persons of both sexes to the accompaniment of

instruments or their own voices.[764] All festivities are incomplete

without impromptu songs, the music being anything but agreeable, and the

accompaniment corn-stalk or cane flutes, wooden drums, or calabashes

filled with stone and shaken to a constantly varying time.[765] They

also spend much time in gambling, often staking their whole property on

a throw, including everything upon their backs. One of these games is

played with a bullet, which is passed rapidly from one hand to the

other, during which they sing, assisting the music with the motion of

their arms. The game consists in guessing in which hand the bullet is

held. Another Comanche game is played with twelve sticks, each about six

inches in length. These are dropped on the ground and those falling

across each other are counted for game, one hundred being the

limit.[766] Horse-racing is likewise a passion with them;[767] as are

also all other athletic sports.[768] When smoking, the Comanches direct

the first two puffs, with much ceremony and muttering, to the sun, and

the third puff with a like demonstration is blown toward the earth. When

short of tobacco, they make use of the dried leaves of the sumach, of

willow-bark, or other plants.[769]

The Comanches are remarkable for their temperance, or rather abhorrence

for intoxicating drink; all the other nations of this family abandon

themselves to this subtle demoralization, and are rapidly sinking under

it. They make their own spirits out of corn and out of agave americana,

the pulque and mescal, both very strong and intoxicating liquors.[770]

Of all North American Indians the Comanches and Cheyennes are said to be

the most skillful riders, and it would be difficult to find their

superiors in any part of the world. Young children, almost infants, are

tied by their mothers to half-wild, bare-backed mustangs, which place

thenceforth becomes their home. They supply themselves with fresh horses

from wild droves wandering over the prairies, or from Mexican

rancherías. A favorite horse is loved and cherished above all things on

earth, not excepting wives or children. The women are scarcely behind

the men in this accomplishment. They sit astride, guide the horses with

the knee like the men, and catch and break wild colts. In fighting, the

Comanches throw the body on one side of the horse, hang on by the heel

and shoot with great precision and rapidity. It is beneath the dignity

of these horsemen to travel on foot, and in their sometimes long and

rapid marches, they defy pursuit.[771] Before horses were known they

used to transport their household effects on the backs of dogs, which

custom even now prevails among some nations.[772]

[Sidenote: COMANCHE CUSTOMS.]

The Comanche observes laws of hospitality as strictly as the Arab, and

he exacts the observance of his rules of etiquette from strangers. When

a visitor enters his dwelling, the master of the house points to him a

seat, and how to reach it, and the host is greatly offended if his

directions are not strictly followed. Meeting on the prairie, friends as

well as enemies, if we may believe Colonel Marcy, put their horses at

full speed. "When a party is discovered approaching thus, and are near

enough to distinguish signals, all that is necessary to ascertain their

disposition is to raise the right hand with the palm in front, and

gradually push it forward and back several times. They all understand

this to be a command to halt, and if they are not hostile, it will at

once be obeyed. After they have stopped, the right hand is raised again

as before, and slowly moved to the right and left, which signifies, I do

not know you. Who are you? They will then answer the inquiry by giving

their signal." Then they inflict on strangers the hugging and

face-rubbing remarked among the Eskimos, demonstrating thereby the

magnitude of their joy at meeting.[773] The various tribes of the Yuma

and Mojave nations hold communication with one another by means of

couriers or runners, who quickly disseminate important news, and call

together the various bands for consultation, hunting, and war. Besides

this, there is used everywhere on the prairies, a system of telegraphy,

which perhaps is only excelled by the wires themselves. Smoke during the

day, and fires at night, perched on mountain-tops, flash intelligence

quickly and surely across the plains, giving the call for assistance or

the order to disperse when pursued. The advanced posts also inform the

main body of the approach of strangers, and all this is done with

astonishing regularity, by either increasing or diminishing the signal

column, or by displaying it only at certain intervals or by increasing

the number.[774] In cold weather many of the nations in the neighborhood

of the Colorado, carry firebrands in their hands, as they assert for the

purpose of warming themselves, which custom led the early visitors to

name the Colorado the Rio del Tizon.[775]

[Sidenote: DISEASES AND MEDICINE.]

The Comanches stand in great dread of evil spirits, which they attempt

to conciliate by fasting and abstinence. When their demons withhold rain

or sunshine, according as they desire, they whip a slave, and if their

gods prove obdurate, their victim is almost flayed alive. The Navajos

venerate the bear, and as before stated, never kill him nor touch any of

his flesh.[776] Although early writers speak of cannibalism among these

people, there is no evidence that they do or ever did eat human

flesh.[777] In their intercourse they are dignified and reserved, and

never interrupt a person speaking. Unless compelled by necessity, they

never speak any language but their own, it being barbarous in their eyes

to make use of foreign tongues.[778]

[Sidenote: BURIAL OF THE DEAD.]

Although endowed generally with robust and healthy constitutions,

bilious and malarial fever, pneumonia, rheumatism, dysentery,

ophthalmia, measles, small-pox, and various syphilitic diseases are

sometimes met among them; the latter occurring most frequently among the

Navajos, Mojaves, Yumas, and Comanches. Whole bands are sometimes

affected with the last-mentioned disease, and its effects are often

visible in their young. A cutaneous ailment, called _pintos_, also makes

its appearance at times.[779] For these ailments they have different

remedies, consisting of leaves, herbs, and roots, of which decoctions or

poultices are made; scarification and the hunger cure are resorted to as

well. Among the Mojaves the universal remedy is the sweat-house,

employed by them and the other nations not only as a remedy for

diseases, but for pleasure. There is no essential difference between

their sweat-houses and those of northern nations--an air-tight hut near

a stream, heated stones, upon which water is thrown to generate steam,

and a plunge into the water afterward. As a cure for the bite of a

rattlesnake they employ an herb called _euphorbia_. Broken or wounded

limbs are encased in wooden splints until healed. But frequently they

abandon their sick and maimed, or treat them with great harshness.[780]

Priests or medicine-men possess almost exclusively the secrets of the

art of healing. When herbs fail they resort to incantations, songs, and

wailings. They are firm believers in witchcraft, and wear as amulets and

charms, feathers, stones, antelope-toes, crane's bills, bits of charred

wood and the like. Their prophets claim the power of foretelling future

events, and are frequently consulted therefor.[781] Most of the nations

in the vicinity of the Colorado, burn their dead as soon as possible

after death, on which occasion the worldly effects of the deceased are

likewise spiritualized; utensils, property, sometimes wives, are sent

with their master to the spirit land.[782] Those that do not burn the

dead, bury them in caves or in shallow graves, with the robes, blankets,

weapons, utensils, and ornaments of the deceased. The Comanches

frequently build a heap of stones over the grave of a warrior, near

which they erect a pole from which a pair of moccasins is

suspended.[783] After burying the corpse, they have some mourning

ceremonies, such as dances and songs around a fire, and go into mourning

for a month. As a sign of grief they cut off the manes and tails of

their horses, and also crop their own hair and lacerate their bodies in

various ways; the women giving vent to their affliction by long

continued howlings. But this applies only to warriors; children, and old

men, are not worth so ostentatious a funeral.[784] The name of a

deceased person is rarely mentioned, and the Apaches are shy of

admitting strangers to a celebration of funeral ceremonies, which mostly

take place at night. In general they are averse to speaking upon the

subject of death at all. The Navajos, says Mr Davis, "have a

superstitious dread of approaching a dead body, and will never go near

one when they can avoid it."[785]

[Sidenote: NEW MEXICAN CHARACTER.]

In the character of the several nations of this division there is a

marked contrast. The Apaches as I have said, though naturally lazy like

all savages, are in their industries extremely active,--their industries

being theft and murder, to which they are trained by their mothers, and

in which they display consummate cunning, treachery, and cruelty.[786]

The Navajos and Mojaves display a more docile nature; their industries,

although therein they do not claim to eschew all trickery, being of a

more peaceful, substantial character, such as stock-raising,

agriculture, and manufactures. Professional thieving is not

countenanced. Though treacherous, they are not naturally cruel; and

though deaf to the call of gratitude, they are hospitable and socially

inclined. They are ever ready to redeem their pledged word, and never

shrink from the faithful performance of a contract. They are brave and

intelligent, and possess much natural common sense.[787] The Tamajabs

have no inclination to share in marauding excursions. Though not wanting

in courage, they possess a mild disposition, and are kind to

strangers.[788] The Comanches are dignified in their deportment, vain in

respect to their personal appearance, ambitious of martial fame,

unrelenting in their feuds, always exacting blood for blood, yet not

sanguinary. They are true to their allies, prizing highly their freedom,

hospitable to strangers, sober yet gay, maintaining a grave stoicism in

presence of strangers, and a Spartan indifference under severe suffering

or misfortune. Formal, discreet, and Arab-like, they are always faithful

to the guest who throws himself upon their hospitality. To the valiant

and brave is awarded the highest place in their esteem. They are

extremely clannish in their social relations. Quarrels among relatives

and friends are unheard of among them.[789]

[Sidenote: THE PUEBLOS.]

The non-nomadic semi-civilized town and agricultural peoples of New

Mexico and Arizona, the second division of this group, I call the

PUEBLOS, or Towns-people, from _pueblo_, town, population, people, a

name given by the Spaniards to such inhabitants of this region as were

found, when first discovered, permanently located in comparatively

well-built towns. Strictly speaking, the term Pueblos applies only to

the villagers settled along the banks of the Rio Grande del Norte and

its tributaries, between latitudes 34° 45´ and 36° 30´, and although the

name is employed as a general appellation for this division, it will be

used, for the most part, only in its narrower and popular sense. In this

division, besides the before-mentioned _Pueblos_ proper, are embraced

the _Moquis_, or villagers of eastern Arizona, and the non-nomadic

agricultural nations of the lower Gila River,--the _Pimas_, _Maricopas_,

_Pápagos_, and cognate tribes. The country of the Towns-people, if we

may credit Lieutenant Simpson, is one of "almost universal barrenness,"

yet interspersed with fertile spots; that of the agricultural nations,

though dry, is more generally productive. The fame of this so-called

civilization reached Mexico at an early day; first through Alvar Nuñez

Cabeza de Vaca and his companions, who belonged to the expedition under

the unfortunate Pámphilo de Narvaez, traversing the continent from

Florida to the shore of the gulf of California; they brought in

exaggerated rumors of great cities to the north, which prompted the

expeditions of Marco de Niza in 1539, of Coronado in 1540, and of Espejo

in 1586. These adventurers visited the north in quest of the fabulous

kingdoms of Quivira, Tontonteac, Marata and others, in which great

riches were said to exist. The name of Quivira was afterwards applied

by them to one or more of the pueblo cities. The name Cíbola, from

_cíbolo_, Mexican bull, _bos bison_, or wild ox of New Mexico, where the

Spaniards first encountered buffalo, was given to seven of the towns

which were afterwards known as the seven cities of Cíbola. But most of

the villages known at the present day were mentioned in the reports of

the early expeditions by their present names. The statements in regard

to the number of their villages differed from the first. Castañeda

speaks of seven cities.[790] The following list, according to Lieutenant

Whipple's statement, appears to be the most complete. Commencing north,

and following the southward course of the Rio Grande del Norte; Shipap,

Acoti, Taos, Picuris, San Juan, Pojuaque, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso,

Nambe, Tesuque, Cochite, Pecos, Santo Domingo, Cuyamanque, Silla, Jemez,

San Felipe, Galisteo, Santa Ana, Zandia, Laguna, Acoma, Zuñi, Isleta,

and Chilili.[791] The Moquis who speak a distinct language, and who have

many customs peculiar to themselves, inhabit seven villages, named

Oraibe, Shumuthpa, Mushaiina, Ahlela, Gualpi, Siwinna, and Tegua.[792]

By the Spanish conquest of New Mexico the natives were probably

disturbed less than was usually the case with the vanquished race; the

Pueblos being well-domiciled and well-behaved, and having little to be

stolen, the invaders adopted the wise policy of permitting them to work

in peace, and to retain the customs and traditions of their forefathers

as they do, many of them, to this day. Attempts have been made to prove

a relationship with the civilized Aztecs of Mexico, but thus far without

success. No affinities in language appear to exist; that of the Moquis,

indeed, contains a few faint traces of and assimilations to Aztec words,

as I shall show in the third volume of this work, but they are not

strong enough to support any theory of common origin or

relationship.[793]

[Sidenote: PIMAS AND PÁPAGOS.]

The Pimas inhabit the banks of the Gila River about two hundred miles

above its confluence with the Colorado. Their territory extends from

about the bend of the Gila up the river to a place called Maricopa

Coppermine; northward their boundary is the Salt River, and south the

Picacho. They are generally divided, and known as the upper and lower

Pimas, which branches show but slight dialectic differences. When first

seen their territory extended further southward into Sonora. The

Pápagos, their neighbors, are closely allied to them by language. In

nowise related to them, but very similar in their manners and customs,

are the Maricopas, who reside in their immediate vicinity, and who claim

to have migrated to that place some centuries ago, from a more westerly

territory.

All these people, although not dwelling in houses built, like those of

the Pueblos, of solid materials, have settled villages in which they

reside at all times, and are entirely distinct from the roving and

nomadic tribes described in the Apache family. When first found by the

Spaniards, they cultivated the soil, and knew how to weave cotton and

other fabrics; in fact it was easily observable that they had made a

step toward civilization. I therefore describe them together with the

Pueblos. The region occupied by them, although containing some good

soil, is scantily provided with water, and to enable them to raise

crops, they are obliged to irrigate, conducting the water of the Gila to

their fields in small canals. The water obtained by digging wells is

frequently brackish, and in many places they are forced to carry all the

water needed for household purposes quite a long distance. The climate

is claimed to be one of the hottest on the American continent.

The Pueblos, and Moqui villagers, are a race of small people, the men

averaging about five feet in height, with small hands and feet, well-cut

features, bright eyes, and a generally pleasing expression of

countenance.[794] Their hair is dark, soft, and of fine texture, and

their skin a clear shade of brown.[795] The woman seldom exceed four

feet in height, with figure rotund, but a graceful carriage, and face

full, with pretty, intelligent features and good teeth.[796] Albinos are

at times seen amongst them, who are described as having very fair

complexions, light hair, and blue or pink eyes.[797]

[Sidenote: DRESS OF THE PUEBLOS.]

[Sidenote: PIMA AND MARICOPA DWELLINGS.]

The Pimas and their neighbors are men of fine physique, tall and bony,

many of them exceeding six feet in height, broad-chested, erect, and

muscular, but frequently light-limbed with small hands, though the feet

of both sexes are large. They have large features, expressive of

frankness and good nature, with prominent cheek-bones and aquiline nose,

those of the women being somewhat retroussés.[798] The females are

symmetrically formed, with beautifully tapered limbs, full busts,

pleasing features, embellished with white and evenly set teeth.[799]

Their coarse hair grows to a great length and thickness, and their dark

complexion becomes yet darker toward the south.[800] The ordinary dress

of the Pueblos is the breech-cloth and blanket; some add a blouse of

cotton or deer-skin, a waist-belt, and buckskin leggins and moccasins.

The women wear a long, cotton, sleeveless tunic, confined round the

waist by a colored girdle, a species of cape bordered in different

colors, fastened round the neck at the two corners, and reaching down to

the waist, while over the head a shawl is thrown. The feet are protected

by neat moccasins of deer-skin or woolen stuff, surmounted by leggins of

the same material. They have a habit of padding the leggins, which makes

them appear short-legged with small feet.[166] The men bind a

handkerchief or colored band round the head. Young women dress the hair

in a peculiarly neat and becoming style. Parting it at the back, they

roll it round hoops, when it is fastened in two high bunches, one on

each side of the head, placing sometimes a single feather in the center;

married women gather it into two tight knots at the side or one at the

back of the head; the men cut it in front of the ears, and in a line

with the eye-brows, while at the back it is plaited or gathered into a

single bunch, and tied with a band.[801] On gala occasions they paint

and adorn themselves in many grotesque styles; arms, legs, and exposed

portions of the body are covered with stripes or rings, and

conical-shaped head-dresses; feathers, sheep-skin wigs, and masks, are

likewise employed.[802] The habiliments of the Pimas are a cotton serape

of their own manufacture, a breech-cloth, with sandals of raw-hide or

deer-skin. Women wear the same kind of serape, wound round the loins and

pinned, or more frequently tucked in at the waist, or fastened with a

belt in which different-colored wools are woven; some wear a short

petticoat of deer-skin or bark.[803] They wear no head-dress. Like the

Pueblos, the men cut the hair short across the forehead, and either

plait it in different coils behind, which are ornamented with bits of

bone, shells, or red cloth, or mix it with clay, or gather it into a

turban shape on top of the head, leaving a few ornamented and braided

locks to hang down over the ears.[804] Each paints in a manner to suit

the fancy; black, red, and yellow are the colors most in vogue, black

being alone used for war paint. Some tattoo their newly born children

round the eyelids, and girls, on arriving at the age of maturity, tattoo

from the corners of the mouth to the chin. Some tribes oblige their

women to cut the hair, others permit it to grow.[805] For ornament,

shell and bead necklaces are used; also ear-rings of a blue stone found

in the mountains.[806] The dwellings of the agricultural Pimas,

Maricopas, and Pápagos consist of dome-shaped huts, either round or oval

at the base. There are usually thirty or more to a village, and they are

grouped with some regard to regularity. Strong forked stakes are firmly

fixed in the ground at regular distances from each other, the number

varying according to the size of the hut, cross-poles are laid from one

to the other, around these are placed cotton-wood poles, which are bent

over and fastened to the transverse sticks, the structure is then

wattled with willows, reeds, or coarse straw, and the whole covered with

a coat of mud. The only openings are an entrance door about three feet

high, and a small aperture in the center of the roof that serves for

ventilation. Their height is from five to seven feet, and the diameter

from twenty to fifty. Outside stands a shed, open at all sides with a

roof of branches or corn-stalks, under which they prepare their food.

Their houses are occupied mainly during the rainy season; in summer they

build light sheds of twigs in their corn-fields, which not only are more

airy, but are also more convenient in watching their growing crops.

Besides the dwelling-place, each family has a granary, similar in shape

and of like materials but of stronger construction; by frequent

plastering with mud they are made impervious to rain.[807] The towns of

the Pueblos are essentially unique, and are the dominant feature of

these aboriginals. Some of them are situated in valleys, others on

mesas; sometimes they are planted on elevations almost inaccessible,

reached only by artificial grades or by steps cut in the solid rock.

Some of the towns are of an elliptical shape, while others are square, a

town being frequently but a block of buildings. Thus a Pueblo consists

of one or more squares, each enclosed by three or four buildings of from

three to four hundred feet in length, and about one hundred and fifty

feet in width at the base, and from two to seven stories of from eight

to nine feet each in height. The buildings forming the square do not

meet, but in some cases are connected by bridges or covered gangways,

and in some instances the houses project over the streets below, which

being narrow, are thus given an underground appearance. The stories are

built in a series of gradations or retreating surfaces, decreasing in

size as they rise, thus forming a succession of terraces.

[Sidenote: PUEBLO HOUSES.]

In some of the towns these terraces are on both sides of the building;

in others they face only toward the outside; while again in others they

are on the inside. In front of the terraces is a parapet, which serves

as a shelter for the inhabitants when forced to defend themselves

against an attack from the outside. These terraces are about six feet

wide, and extend round the three or four sides of the square, forming a

walk for the occupants of the story resting upon it, and a roof for the

story beneath; so with the stories above. As there is no inner

communication with one another, the only means of mounting to them is by

ladders which stand at convenient distances along the several rows of

terraces, and they may be drawn up at pleasure, thus cutting off all

unwelcome intrusion. The outside walls of one or more of the lower

stories are entirely solid, having no openings of any kind, with the

exception of, in some towns, a few loopholes. All the doors and windows

are on the inside opening on the court. The several stories of these

huge structures are divided into multitudinous compartments of greater

or lesser size, which are apportioned to the several families of the

tribe. Access is had to the different stories by means of the ladders,

which at night and in times of danger are drawn up after the person

entering. To enter the rooms on the ground floor from the outside, one

must mount the ladder to the first balcony or terrace, then descend

through a trap door in the floor by another ladder on the inside. The

roofs or ceilings, which are nearly flat, are formed of transverse beams

which slope slightly outward, the ends resting on the side walls; on

these, to make the floor and terrace of the story above, is laid brush

wood, then a layer of bark or thin slabs, and over all a thick covering

of mud sufficient to render them water-tight. The windows in the upper

stories are made of flakes of selenite instead of glass. The rooms are

large, the substantial partitions are made of wood, and neatly

whitewashed. The apartments on the ground floor are gloomy, and

generally used as store-rooms; those above are sometimes furnished with

a small fireplace, the chimney leading out some feet above the terrace.

Houses are common property, and both men and women assist in building

them; the men erect the wooden frames, and the women make the mortar and

build the walls. In place of lime for mortar, they mix ashes with earth

and charcoal. They make adobes or sun-dried bricks by mixing ashes and

earth with water, which is then moulded into large blocks and dried in

the sun. Some of the towns are built with stones laid in mud. Captain

Simpson describes several ruined cities, which he visited, which show

that the inhabitants formerly had a knowledge of architecture and design

superior to any that the Pueblos of the present day possess. Yet their

buildings are even now well constructed, for although several stories in

height, the walls are seldom more than three or four feet in thickness.

The apartments are well arranged and neatly kept; one room is used for

cooking, another for grinding corn and preserving winter supplies of

food, others for sleeping-rooms. On the balconies, round the doors

opening upon them, the villagers congregate to gossip and smoke, while

the streets below, when the ladders are drawn up, present a gloomy and

forsaken appearance. Sometimes villages are built in the form of an open

square with buildings on three sides, and again two or more large

terraced structures capable of accommodating one or two thousand people

are built contiguous to each other, or on opposite banks of a stream. In

some instances the outer wall presents one unbroken line, without

entrance or anything to indicate the busy life within; another form is

to join the straight walls, which encompass three sides of a square, by

a fourth circular wall; in all of which the chief object is defense. The

Pueblos take great pride in their picturesque and, to them, magnificent

structures, affirming that as fortresses they have ever proved

impregnable. To wall out black barbarism was what the Pueblos wanted,

and to be let alone; under these conditions time was giving them

civilization.[808]

[Sidenote: PUEBLO ESTUFAS.]

The sweat-house, or as the Spaniards call it, the _estufa_, assumes with

the Pueblos the grandest proportions. Every village has from one to six

of these singular structures. A large, semi-subterranean room, it is at

once bath-house, town-house, council-chamber, club-room, and church. It

consists of a large excavation, the roof being about on a level with the

ground, sometimes a little above it, and is supported by heavy timbers

or pillars of masonry. Around the sides are benches, and in the center

of the floor a square stone box for fire, wherein aromatic plants are

kept constantly burning. Entrance is made by means of a ladder, through

a hole in the top placed directly over the fire-place so that it also

serves as a ventilator and affords a free passage to the smoke. Usually

they are circular in form and of both large and small dimensions; they

are placed either within the great building or underground in the court

without. In some of the ruins they are found built in the center of what

was once a pyramidal pile, and four stories in height. At Jemez the

estufa is of one story, twenty-five feet wide by thirty feet high. The

ruins of Chettro Kettle contain six estufas, each two or three stories

in height. At Bonito are estufas one hundred and seventy-five feet in

circumference, built in alternate layers of thick and thin stone slabs.

In these subterranean temples the old men met in secret council, or

assembled in worship of their gods. Here are held dances and

festivities, social intercourse, and mourning ceremonies. Certain of the

Pueblos have a custom similar to that practiced by some of the northern

tribes, the men sleeping in the sweat-house with their feet to the fire,

and permitting women to enter only to bring them food. The estufas of

Tiguex were situated in the heart of the village, built underground,

both round and square, and paved with large polished stones.[809]

[Sidenote: HOW FOOD IS OBTAINED.]

From the earliest information we have of these nations they are known to

have been tillers of the soil; and though the implements used and their

methods of cultivation were both simple and primitive, cotton, corn,

wheat, beans, with many varieties of fruits, which constituted their

principal food, were raised in abundance. The Pueblos breed poultry to a

considerable extent; fish are eaten whenever obtainable, as also a few

wild animals, such as deer, hares, and rabbits, though they are

indifferent hunters.[810] The Pápagos, whose country does not present

such favorable conditions for agriculture are forced to rely for a

subsistence more upon wild fruits and animals than the nations north of

them. They collect large quantities of the fruit of the pitahaya

(_cereus giganteus_), and in seasons of scarcity resort to whatever is

life-sustaining, not disdaining even snakes, lizards, and toads.[811]

Most of these people irrigate their lands by means of conduits or

ditches, leading either from the river or from tanks in which rain-water

is collected and stored for the purpose. These ditches are kept in

repair by the community, but farming operations are carried on by each

family for its own separate benefit, which is a noticeable advance from

the usual savage communism.[812] Fishing nets are made of twisted thread

or of small sticks joined together at the ends. When the rivers are low,

fish are caught in baskets or shot with arrows to which a string is

attached.[813] The corn which is stored for winter use, is first

par-boiled in the shuck, and then suspended from strings to dry; peaches

are dried in large quantities, and melons are preserved by peeling and

removing the seeds, when they are placed in the sun, and afterward hung

up in trees. Meal is ground on the metate and used for making porridge,

tortillas, and a very thin cake called _guayave_, which latter forms a

staple article of food amongst the Pueblos. The process of making the

guayave, as seen by Lieutenant Simpson at Santo Domingo on the Rio

Grande, is thus described in his journal. "At the house of the governor

I noticed a woman, probably his wife, going through the process of

baking a very thin species of corn cake, called, according to Gregg,

guayave. She was hovering over a fire, upon which lay a flat stone. Near

her was a bowl of thin corn paste, into which she thrust her fingers;

allowing then the paste to drip sparingly upon the stone, with two or

three wipes from the palm of her hand she would spread it entirely and

uniformly over the stone; this was no sooner done than she peeled it off

as fit for use; and the process was again and again repeated, until a

sufficient quantity was obtained. When folded and rolled together, it

does not look unlike (particularly that made from the blue corn) a

hornet's nest--a name by which it is sometimes called." The Pimas do all

their cooking out of doors, under a shed erected for the purpose. They

collect the pulp from the fruit of the pitahaya, and boiling it in

water, make a thick syrup, which they store away for future use. They

also dry the fruit in the sun like figs.[814]

The Pueblos and Moquis are remarkable for their personal cleanliness and

the neatness of their dwellings.[815]

[Sidenote: PUEBLO WEAPONS.]

Their weapons are bows and arrows, spears, and clubs. The Pueblos use a

crooked stick, which they throw somewhat in the manner of the boomerang;

they are exceedingly skillful in the use of the sling, with a stone from

which they are said to be able to hit with certainty a small mark or

kill a deer at the distance of a hundred yards. For defense, they use a

buckler or shield made of raw hide. Their arrows are carried in skin

quivers or stuck in the belt round the waist.[816] Bows are made of

willow, and are about six feet in length, strung with twisted

deer-sinews; arrows are made of reeds, into which a piece of hard wood

is fitted.[817] The Pimas wing their war arrows with three feathers and

point them with flint, while for hunting purposes they have only two

feathers and wooden points.[818] It has been stated that they poison

them, but there does not appear to be good foundation for this

assertion.[819] Clubs, which are used in hand-to-hand combats, are made

of a hard, heavy wood, measuring from twenty to twenty-four inches in

length. In former days they were sharpened by inserting flint or

obsidian along the edge.[820]

[Sidenote: WAR CEREMONIES.]

The Pimas wage unceasing war against the Apaches, and the Pueblos are

ever at enmity with their neighbors, the Navajos. The Pueblos are

securely protected by the position and construction of their dwellings,

from the top of which they are able to watch the appearance and

movements of enemies, and should any be daring enough to approach their

walls, they are greeted by a shower of stones and darts. As an

additional protection to their towns, they dig pitfalls on the trails

leading to them, at the bottom of which sharp-pointed stakes are driven,

the top of the hole being carefully covered.[821] Expeditions are

sometimes organized against the Navajos for the recovery of stolen

property. On such occasions the Towns-people equip themselves with the

heads, horns, and tails of wild animals, paint the body and plume the

head.[822] Lieutenant Simpson mentions a curious custom observed by

them, just previous to going into action. "They halted on the way to

receive from their chiefs some medicine from the medicine bags which

each of them carried about his person. This they rubbed upon their

heart, as they said, to make it big and brave." The Pueblos fight on

horseback in skirmishing order, and keep up a running fight, throwing

the body into various attitudes, the better to avoid the enemies'

missiles, at the same time discharging their arrows with rapidity.[823]

The Pimas, who fight usually on foot, when they decide on going to war,

select their best warriors, who are sent to notify the surrounding

villages, and a place of meeting is named where a grand council is held.

A fire being lighted and a circle of warriors formed, the proceedings

are opened by war songs and speeches, their prophet is consulted, and in

accordance with his professional advice, their plan of operations is

arranged.[824] The attack is usually made about day-break, and conducted

with much pluck and vigor. They content themselves with proximate

success, and seldom pursue a flying foe.[825] During the heat of battle

they spare neither sex nor age, but if prisoners are taken, the males

are crucified or otherwise cruelly put to death, and the women and

children sold as soon as possible.[826] The successful war party on its

return is met by the inhabitants of the villages, scalps are fixed on a

pole, trophies displayed, and feasting and dancing indulged in for

several days and nights; if unsuccessful, mourning takes the place of

feasting, and the death-cries of the women resound through the

villages.[827]

[Sidenote: PUEBLO TRADE.]

For farming implements they use plows, shovels, harrows, hatchets, and

sticks, all of wood.[828] Baskets of willow-twigs, so closely woven as

to be water-tight, and ornamented with figures; and round, baked, and

glazed earthen vessels, narrow at the top, and decorated with paintings

or enamel, are their household utensils.[829] For mashing hulled corn

they used the metate, a Mexican implement, made of two stones, one

concave and the other convex, hereafter more fully described. Among

their household utensils there must also be mentioned hair sieves, hide

ropes, water-gourds, painted fans, stone pipes, and frame panniers

connected with a netting to carry loads on their backs.[830] In their

manufacture of blankets, of cotton and woolen cloths, and stockings, the

Pueblos excel their neighbors, the Navajos, although employing

essentially the same method, and using similar looms and spinning

instruments, as have been described in the preceding pages. Although the

women perform most of this work, as well as tanning leather, it is said

that the men also are expert in knitting woolen stockings. According to

Mühlenpfordt the Pimas and Maricopas make a basket-boat which they call

_cora_, woven so tight as to be water-proof without the aid of pitch or

other application.[831] All these nations, particularly the Pueblos,

have great droves of horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, sheep, and goats

grazing on the extensive plains, and about their houses poultry,

turkeys, and dogs. The flocks they either leave entirely unprotected, or

else the owner herds them himself, or from each village one is

appointed by the war captain to do so. The Pápagos carry on an extensive

trade in salt, taken from the great inland salt lakes. Besides corn,

they manufacture and sell a syrup extracted from the pitahaya.[832] The

laws regulating inheritance of property are not well defined. Among some

there is nothing to inherit, as all is destroyed when the person dies;

among others the females claim the right of inheritance; at other times

the remaining property is divided among all the members of the tribe. In

general they care but little for gold, and all their trade, which at

times is considerable, is carried on by barter; a kind of blue stone,

often called turquoise, beads, skins, and blankets, serving the purpose

of currency.[833]

The Pueblos display much taste in painting the walls of their estufas,

where are represented different plants, birds, and animals symmetrically

done, but without any scenic effect. Hieroglyphic groupings, both

sculptured and painted, are frequently seen in the ancient Pueblo

towns, depicting, perhaps, their historical events and deeds. With

colored earths their pottery is painted in bright colors.[834] Many

Spanish authors mention a great many gold and silver vessels in use

amongst them, and speak of the knowledge they had in reducing and

working these metals; but no traces of such art are found at

present.[835]

[Sidenote: LAWS OF THE PUEBLOS.]

Among the Pueblos an organized system of government existed at the time

of Coronado's expedition through their country; Castañeda, speaking of

the province of Tiguex, says that the villages were governed by a

council of old men; and a somewhat similar system obtains with these

people at the present time. Each village selects its own governor,

frames its own laws, and in all respects they act independently of each

other. The governor and his council are elected annually by the people;

all affairs of importance and matters relating to the welfare of the

community are discussed at the estufa; questions in dispute are usually

decided by a vote of the majority. All messages and laws emanating from

the council-chamber are announced to the inhabitants by town criers. The

morals of young people are carefully watched and guarded by a kind of

secret police, whose duty it is to report to the governor all

irregularities which may occur; and especial attention is given that no

improper intercourse shall be allowed between the young men and women,

in the event of which the offending parties are brought before the

governor and council and, if guilty, ordered to marry, or if they refuse

they are restricted from holding intercourse with each other, and if

they persist they are whipped. Among their laws deserves to be

particularly mentioned one, according to which no one can sell or marry

out of the town until he obtains permission from the authorities.[836]

In the seven confederate pueblos of the Moquis, the office of chief

governor is hereditary; it is not, however, necessarily given to the

nearest heir, as the people have the power to elect any member of the

dominant family. The governor is assisted by a council of elders, and in

other respects the Moqui government is similar to that of the other

towns.[837] The Pimas and Maricopas have no organized system of

government, and are not controlled by any code of laws; each tribe or

village has a chief to whom a certain degree of respect is conceded, but

his power to restrain the people is very limited; his influence over

them is maintained chiefly by his oratorical powers or military skill.

In war the tribe is guided by the chief's advice, and his authority is

fully recognized, but in time of peace his rule is nominal; nor does he

attempt to control their freedom or punish them for offences. The

chief's office is hereditary, yet an unpopular ruler may be deposed and

another chosen to fill his place.[838]

[Sidenote: WOMEN AMONG THE PUEBLOS.]

Among the Pueblos the usual order of courtship is reversed; when a girl

is disposed to marry she does not wait for a young man to propose to

her, but selects one to her own liking and consults her father, who

visits the parents of the youth and acquaints them with his daughter's

wishes. It seldom happens that any objections to the match are made, but

it is imperative on the father of the bridegroom to reimburse the

parents of the maiden for the loss of their daughter. This is done by an

offer of presents in accordance with his rank and wealth. The

inhabitants of one village seldom marry with those of another, and, as a

consequence, intermarriage is frequent among these families--a fertile

cause of their deterioration. The marriage is always celebrated by a

feast, the provisions for which are furnished by the bride, and the

assembled friends unite in dancing and music. Polygamy is never allowed,

but married couples can separate if they are dissatisfied with each

other; in such a contingency, if there are children, they are taken care

of by the grandparents, and both parties are free to marry again;

fortunately, divorces are not of frequent occurrence, as the wives are

always treated with respect by their husbands.[839] To the female falls

all indoor work, and also a large share of that to be done out of doors.

In the treatment of their children these people are careful to guide

them in the ways of honesty and industry, and to impress their minds

with chaste and virtuous ideas. Mothers bathe their infants with cold

water, and boys are not permitted to enter the estufas for the purpose

of warming themselves; if they are cold they are ordered to chop wood,

or warm themselves by running and exercise.[840] A girl's arrival at the

age of puberty among the Gila nations is a period of much rejoicing;

when the first symptoms appear, all her friends are duly informed of the

important fact, and preparations are made to celebrate the joyful event.

The girl is taken by her parents to the prophet, who performs certain

ceremonies, which are supposed to drive the evil out of her, and then a

singing and dancing festival is held. When a young man sees a girl whom

he desires for a wife, he first endeavors to gain the good will of the

parents; this accomplished, he proceeds to serenade his lady-love, and

will often sit for hours, day after day, near her house, playing on his

flute. Should the girl not appear it is a sign she rejects him; but if,

on the other hand, she comes out to meet him, he knows that his suit is

accepted, and he takes her to his house. No marriage ceremony is

performed. Among the Pápagos the parents select a husband for their

daughter to whom she is, so to say, sold. It not unfrequently happens

that they offer their daughter at auction, and she is knocked down to

the highest bidder. However, among all the nations of this family,

whether the bridegroom makes a love-match or not, he has to recompense

the parents with as much as his means will permit.[841] Although

polygamy is not permitted, they often separate and marry again at

pleasure. Women, at the time of their confinement as well as during

their monthly periods, must live apart; as they believe that if any male

were to touch them, he would become sick. The children are trained to

war, and but little attention given to teaching them useful pursuits.

All the household labor is performed by the women; they also assist

largely in the labors of the field; severe laws oblige them to observe

the strictest chastity, and yet, at their festivals, much debauchery and

prostitution take place.[842]

[Sidenote: PUEBLO DANCES.]

With but few exceptions, they are temperate in drinking and smoking.

Intoxicating liquors they prepare out of the fruits of the pitahaya,

agave, aloe, corn, mezcal, prickly pear, wild and cultivated grapes.

Colonel Cremony says that the Pimas and Maricopas 'macerate the fruit of

the pitahaya (species of cactus) in water after being dried in the sun,

when the saccharine qualities cause the liquid to ferment, and after

such fermentation it becomes highly intoxicating. It is upon this liquor

that the Maricopas and Pimas get drunk once a year, the revelry

continuing for a week or two at a time; but it is also an universal

custom with them to take regular turns, so that only one third of the

party is supposed to indulge at one time, the remainder being required

to take care of their stimulated comrades, and protect them from

injuring each other or being injured by other tribes.'[843] All are fond

of dancing and singing; in their religious rites, as well as in other

public and family celebrations, these form the chief diversion.

Different dances are used on different occasions; for example, they have

the arrow, scalp, turtle, fortune, buffalo, green-corn, and Montezuma

dances. Their costumes also vary on each of these occasions, and not

only are grotesque masks, but also elk, bear, fox, and other skins used

as disguises. The dance is sometimes performed by only one person, but

more frequently whole tribes join in, forming figures, shuffling, or

hopping about to the time given by the music. Lieutenant Simpson, who

witnessed a green-corn dance at the Jemez pueblo, describes it as

follows:

'When the performers first appeared, all of whom were men, they came in

a line, slowly walking and bending and stooping as they approached. They

were dressed in a kirt of blanket, the upper portion of their bodies

being naked and painted red. Their legs and arms, which were also bare,

were variously striped with red, white and blue colors; and around their

arms, above the elbow, they wore a green band, decked with sprigs of

piñon. A necklace of the same description was worn around the neck.

Their heads were decorated with feathers. In one hand they carried a dry

gourd, containing some grains of corn; in the other, a string from which

were hung several tortillas. At the knee were fastened small shells of

the ground turtle and antelope's feet; and dangling from the back, at

the waist, depended a fox-skin. The party was accompanied by three

elders of the town, whose business it was to make a short speech in

front of the different houses, and, at particular times, join in the

singing of the rest of the party. Thus they went from house to house,

singing and dancing, the occupants of each awaiting their arrival in

front of their respective dwellings.'

A somewhat similar Moqui dance is described by Mr Ten Broeck. Some of

the Pueblo dances end with bacchanalia, in which not only general

intoxication, but promiscuous intercourse between the sexes is

permitted.[844] 'Once a year,' says Kendall, 'the Keres have a great

feast, prepared for three successive days, which time is spent in

eating, drinking and dancing. Near this scene of amusement is a dismal

gloomy cave, into which not a glimpse of light can penetrate, and where

places of repose are provided for the revellers. To this cave, after

dark, repair grown persons of every age and sex, who pass the night in

indulgences of the most gross and sensual description.'

Reed flutes and drums are their chief instruments of music; the former

they immerse in a shallow basin of water, and thereby imitate the

warbling of birds. The drum is made of a hollow log, about two and a

half feet long and fifteen inches in diameter. A dried hide, from which

previously the hair has been scraped, is stretched over either end, and

on this the player beats with a couple of drumsticks, similar to those

used on our kettle-drums. Gourds filled with pebbles and other rattles,

are also used as a musical accompaniment to their dances.[845]

[Sidenote: CUSTOMS OF PIMAS AND PÁPAGOS.]

The Cocomaricopas and Pimas are rather fond of athletic sports, such as

football, horse and foot racing, swimming, target-shooting, and of

gambling.[846] Many curious customs obtain among these people. Mr

Walker relates that a Pima never touches his skin with his nails, but

always uses a small stick for that purpose, which he renews every fourth

day, and wears in his hair. Among the same nation, when a man has killed

an Apache, he must needs undergo purification. Sixteen days he must

fast, and only after the fourth day is he allowed to drink a little

pinole. During the sixteen days he may not look on a blazing fire, nor

hold converse with mortal man; he must live in the woods companionless,

save only one person appointed to take care of him. On the seventeenth

day a large space is cleared off near the village, in the center of

which a fire is lighted. The men form a circle round this fire, outside

of which those who have been purified sit, each in a small excavation.

Certain of the old men then take the weapons of the purified and dance

with them in the circle; for which service they receive presents, and

thenceforth both slayer and weapon are considered clean, but not until

four days later is the man allowed to return to his family. They ascribe

the origin of this custom to a mythical personage, called Szeukha, who,

after killing a monster, is said to have fasted for sixteen days.

The Pápagos stand in great dread of the coyote, and the Pimas never

touch an ant, snake, scorpion, or spider, and are much afraid of

thunderstorms. Like the Mojaves and Yumas, the Maricopas in cold weather

carry a firebrand to warm themselves withal. In like manner the Pueblos

have their singularities and semi-religious ceremonies, many of which

are connected with a certain mythical personage called Montezuma. Among

these may be mentioned the perpetual watching of the eternal

estufa-fire, and also the daily waiting for the rising sun, with which,

as some writers affirm, they expectantly look for the promised return of

the much-loved Montezuma. The Moqui, before commencing to smoke,

reverently bows toward the four cardinal points.[847]

Their diseases are few; and among these the most frequent are chills and

fevers, and later, syphilis. The Pueblos and Moquis resort to the

sweat-house remedy, but the Pimas only bathe daily in cold running

water. Here, as elsewhere, the doctor is medicine-man, conjuror, and

prophet, and at times old women are consulted. If incantations fail,

emetics, purgatives, or blood-letting are prescribed.[848]

The Pimas bury their dead immediately after death. At the bottom of a

shaft, about six feet deep, they excavate a vault, in which the corpse

is placed, after having first been tied up in a blanket. House, horses,

and most personal effects are destroyed; but if children are left, a

little property is reserved for them. A widow or a daughter mourns for

three months, cutting the hair and abstaining from the bath during that

time. The Maricopas burn their dead. Pueblo and Moqui burials take place

with many ceremonies, the women being the chief mourners.[849]

[Sidenote: CHARACTER OF THE PUEBLOS.]

Industrious, honest, and peace-loving, the people of this division are

at the same time brave and determined, when necessity compels them to

repel the thieving Apache. Sobriety may be ranked among their virtues,

as drunkenness only forms a part of certain religious festivals, and in

their gambling they are the most moderate of barbarians.[850]

THE LOWER CALIFORNIANS present a sad picture. Occupying the peninsula

from the head of the gulf to Cape San Lucas, it is thought by some that

they were driven thither from Upper California by their enemies. When

first visited by the Missionary Fathers, they presented humanity in one

of its lowest phases, though evidences of a more enlightened people

having at some previous time occupied the peninsula were not lacking.

Clavigero describes large caves or vaults, which had been dug out of the

solid rock, the sides decorated with paintings of animals and figures of

men, showing dress and features different from any of the inhabitants.

Whom they represented or by whom they were depicted there is no

knowledge, as the present race have been unable to afford any

information on the subject.

[Sidenote: LOWER CALIFORNIA.]

The peninsula extends from near 32° to 23° north latitude; in length it

is about seven hundred, varying in width from thirty-five to eighty

miles. Its general features are rugged; irregular mountains of granite

formation and volcanic upheavals traversing the whole length of the

country, with barren rocks and sandy plains, intersected by ravines and

hills. Some fertile spots and valleys with clear mountain streams are

there, and in such places the soil produces abundantly; then there are

plains of greater or less extent, with rich soil, but without water; so

that, under the circumstances, they are little more than deserts. These

plains rise in places into mesas, which are cut here and there by

cañons, where streams of water are found, which are again lost on

reaching the sandy plains. Altogether, Lower California is considered as

one of the most barren and unattractive regions in the temperate zone,

although its climate is delightful, and the mountain districts

especially are among the healthiest in the world, owing to their

southern situation between two seas. A curious meteorological phenomenon

is sometimes observed both in the gulf and on the land; it is that of

rain falling during a perfectly clear sky. Savants, who have

investigated the subject, do not appear to have discovered the cause of

this unusual occurrence.

The greater part of the peninsula, at the time of its discovery, was

occupied by the _Cochimís_, whose territory extended from the head of

the gulf to the neighborhood of Loreto, or a little south of the

twenty-sixth parallel; adjoining them were the _Guaicuris_, living

between latitude 26° and 23° 30´; while the _Pericúis_ were settled in

the southern part, from about 23° 30´ or 24° to Cape San Lucas, and on

the adjacent islands.[851]

The Lower Californians are well formed, robust and of good stature, with

limbs supple and muscular; they are not inclined to corpulence; their

features are somewhat heavy, the forehead low and narrow, the nose well

set on, but thick and fleshy; the inner corners of the eyes round

instead of pointed; teeth very white and regular, hair very black,

coarse, straight, and glossy, with but little on the face, and none upon

the body or limbs. The color of the skin varies from light to dark

brown, the former color being characteristic of the dwellers in the

interior, and the latter of those on the sea-coast.[852]

[Sidenote: COCHIMÍ AND PERICÚI DRESS.]

Adam without the fig-leaves was not more naked than were the Cochimís

before the missionaries first taught them the rudiments of shame. They

ignored even the usual breech-cloth, the only semblance of clothing

being a head-dress of rushes or strips of skin interwoven with

mother-of-pearl shells, berries, and pieces of reed. The Guaicuris and

Pericúis indulge in a still more fantastic head-dress, white feathers

entering largely into its composition. The women display more modesty,

for, although scantily clad, they at least essay to cover their

nakedness. The Pericúi women are the best dressed of all, having a

petticoat reaching from the waist to the ankles, made from the fibre of

certain palm-leaves, and rendered soft and flexible by beating between

two stones. Over the shoulders they throw a mantle of similar material,

or of plaited rushes, or of skins. The Cochimí women make aprons of

short reeds, strung upon cords of aloe-plant fibres fastened to a

girdle. The apron is open at the sides, one part hanging in front, the

other behind. As they are not more than six or eight inches wide, but

little of the body is in truth covered. When traveling they wear sandals

of hide, which they fasten with strings passed between the toes.[853]

Both sexes are fond of ornaments; to gratify this passion, they string

together pearls, shells, fruit-stones and seeds in the forms of

necklaces and bracelets. In addition to the head-dress the Pericúis are

distinguished by a girdle highly ornamented with pearls and

mother-of-pearl shells. They perforate ears, lips, and nose, inserting

in the openings, shells, bones, or hard sticks. Paint in many colors and

devices is freely used on war and gala occasions; tattooing obtains, but

does not appear to be universal among them. Mothers, to protect them

against the weather, cover the entire bodies of their children with a

varnish of coal and urine. Cochimí women cut the hair short, but the men

allow a long tuft to grow on the crown of the head. Both sexes among the

Guaicuris and Pericúis wear the hair long and flowing loosely over the

shoulders.[854]

Equally Adamitic are their habitations. They appear to hold a

superstitious dread of suffocation if they live or sleep in covered

huts; hence in their rare and meagre attempts to protect themselves from

the inclemencies of the weather, they never put any roof over their

heads. Roving beast-like in the vicinity of springs during the heat of

the day, seeking shade in the ravines and overhanging rocks; at night,

should they desire shelter, they resort to caverns and holes in the

ground. During winter they raise a semi-circular pile of stones or

brushwood, about two feet in height, behind which, with the sky for a

roof and the bare ground for a bed, they camp at night. Over the sick

they sometimes throw a wretched hut, by sticking a few poles in the

ground, tying them at the top and covering the whole with grass and

reeds, and into this nest visitors crawl on hands and knees.[855]

[Sidenote: LOWER CALIFORNIAN FOOD.]

Reed-roots, wild fruit, pine-nuts, cabbage-palms, small seeds roasted,

and also roasted aloe and mescal roots constitute their food. During

eight weeks of the year they live wholly on the redundant fat-producing

_pitahaya_, after which they wander about in search of other native

vegetable products, and when these fail they resort to hunting and

fishing. Of animal food they will eat anything--beasts, birds, and

fishes, or reptiles, worms, and insects; and all parts: flesh, hide, and

entrails. Men and monkeys, however, as articles of food are an

abomination; the latter because they so much resemble the former. The

gluttony and improvidence of these people exceed, if possible, those of

any other nation; alternate feasting and fasting is their custom. When

so fortunate as to have plenty they consume large quantities, preserving

none. An abominable habit is related of them, that they pick up the

undigested seeds of the pitahaya discharged from their bowels, and after

parching and grinding them, eat the meal with much relish. Clavigero,

Baegert, and other authors, mention another rather uncommon feature in

the domestic economy of the Cochimís; it is that of swallowing their

meat several times, thereby multiplying their gluttonous pleasures.

Tying to a string a piece of well-dried meat, one of their number

masticates it a little, and swallows it, leaving the end of the string

hanging out of the mouth; after retaining it for about two or three

minutes in his stomach, it is pulled out, and the operation repeated

several times, either by the same individual or by others, until the

meat becomes consumed. Here is Father Baegert's summary of their

edibles: "They live now-a-days on dogs and cats; horses, asses and

mules; item: on owls, mice and rats; lizards and snakes; bats,

grasshoppers and crickets; a kind of green caterpillar without hair,

about a finger long, and an abominable white worm of the length and

thickness of the thumb."[856]

Their weapon is the bow and arrow, but they use stratagem to procure the

game. The deer-hunter deceives his prey by placing a deer's head upon

his own; hares are trapped; the Cochimís throw a kind of boomerang or

flat curved stick, which skims the ground and breaks the animal's legs.

Fish are taken from pools left by the tide and from the sea, sometimes

several miles out, in nets and with the aid of long lances. It is said

that at San Roche Island they catch fish with birds. They also gather

oysters, which they eat roasted, but use no salt. They have no cooking

utensils, but roast their meat by throwing it into the fire and after a

time raking it out. Insects and caterpillars are parched over the hot

coals in shells. Fish is commonly eaten raw; they drink only

water.[857] It is said that they never wash, and it is useless to add

that in their filthiness they surpass the brutes.[858]

Besides bows and arrows they use javelins, clubs, and slings of cords,

from which they throw stones. Their bows are six feet long, very broad

and thick in the middle and tapering toward the ends, with strings made

from the intestines of animals. The arrows are reeds about thirty inches

in length, into the lower end of which a piece of hard wood is cemented

with resin obtained from trees, and pointed with flint sharpened to a

triangular shape and serrated at the edges. Javelins are sharpened by

first hardening in the fire and then grinding to a point; they are

sometimes indented like a saw. Clubs are of different forms, either

mallet-head or axe shape; they also crook and sharpen at the edge a

piece of wood in the form of a scimeter.[859]

Their wars, which spring from disputed boundaries, are frequent and

deadly, and generally occur about fruit and seed time. The battle is

commenced amidst yells and brandishing of weapons, though without any

preconcerted plan, and a tumultuous onslaught is made without regularity

or discipline, excepting that a certain number are held in reserve to

relieve those who have expended their arrows or become exhausted. While

yet at a distance they discharge their arrows, but soon rush forward and

fight at close quarters with their clubs and spears; nor do they cease

till many on both sides have fallen.[860]

[Sidenote: IMPLEMENTS IN LOWER CALIFORNIA.]

Their implements and household utensils are both rude and few. Sharp

flints serve them instead of knives; a bone ground to a point answers

the purpose of a needle or an awl; and with a sharp-pointed stick roots

are dug. Fire is obtained in the usual way from two pieces of wood. When

traveling, water is carried in a large bladder. The shell of the turtle

is applied to various uses, such as a receptacle for food and a cradle

for infants.

The Lower Californians have little ingenuity, and their display of

mechanical skill is confined to the manufacture of the aforesaid

implements, weapons of war, and of the chase; they make some flat

baskets of wicker work, which are used in the collection of seeds and

fruits; also nets from the fibre of the aloe, one in which to carry

provisions, and another fastened to a forked stick and hung upon the

back, in which to carry children.[861]

For boats the inhabitants of the peninsula construct rafts of reeds made

into bundles and bound tightly together; they are propelled with short

paddles, and seldom are capable of carrying more than one person. In

those parts where trees grow a more serviceable canoe is made from bark,

and sometimes of three or more logs, not hollowed out, but laid together

side by side and made fast with withes or pita-fibre cords. These floats

are buoyant, the water washing over them as over a catamaran. On them

two or more men will proceed fearlessly to sea, to a distance of several

miles from the coast. To transport their chattels across rivers, they

use wicker-work baskets, which are so closely woven as to be quite

impermeable to water; these, when loaded, are pushed across by the

owner, who swims behind.[862]

Besides their household utensils and boats, and the feathers or

ornaments on their persons, I find no other property. They who dwell on

the sea-coast occasionally travel inland, carrying with them sea-shells

and feathers to barter with their neighbors for the productions of the

interior.[863]

They are unable to count more than five, and this number is expressed by

one hand; some few among them are able to understand that two hands

signify ten, but beyond this they know nothing of enumeration, and can

only say much or many, or show that the number is beyond computation, by

throwing sand into the air and such like antics. The year is divided

into six seasons; the first is called Mejibo, which is midsummer, and

the time of ripe pitahayas; the second season Amaddappi, a time of

further ripening of fruits and seeds; the third Amadaappigalla, the end

of autumn and beginning of winter; the fourth, which is the coldest

season, is called Majibel; the fifth, when spring commences, is Majiben;

the sixth, before any fruits or seeds have ripened, consequently the

time of greatest scarcity, is called Majiibenmaaji.[864]

Neither government nor law is found in this region; every man is his own

master, and administers justice in the form of vengeance as best he is

able. As Father Baegert remarks: 'The different tribes represented by

no means communities of rational beings, who submit to laws and

regulations and obey their superiors, but resembled far more herds of

wild swine, which run about according to their own liking, being

together to-day and scattered to-morrow, till they meet again by

accident at some future time. In one word, the Californians lived,

_salva venia_, as though they had been free-thinkers and materialists.'

In hunting and war they have one or more chiefs to lead them, who are

selected only for the occasion, and by reason of superior strength or

cunning.[865]

[Sidenote: MARRIAGE.]

Furthermore, they have no marriage ceremony, nor any word in their

language to express marriage. Like birds or beasts they pair off

according to fancy. The Pericúi takes as many women as he pleases, makes

them work for him as slaves, and when tired of any one of them turns her

away, in which case she may not be taken by another. Some form of

courtship appears to have obtained among the Guaicuris; for example,

when a young man saw a girl who pleased him, he presented her with a

small bowl or basket made of the pita-fibre; if she accepted the gift,

it was an evidence that his suit was agreeable to her, and in return she

gave him an ornamented head-dress, the work of her own hand; then they

lived together without further ceremony. Although among the Guaicuris

and Cochimís some hold a plurality of wives, it is not so common as with

the Pericúis, for in the two first-mentioned tribes there are more men

than women. A breach of female chastity is sometimes followed by an

attempt of the holder of the woman to kill the offender; yet morality

never attained any great height, as it is a practice with them for

different tribes to meet occasionally for the purpose of holding

indiscriminate sexual intercourse. Childbirth is easy; the Pericúis and

Guaicuris wash the body of the newly born, then cover it with ashes; as

the child grows it is placed on a frame-work of sticks, and if a male,

on its chest they fix a bag of sand to prevent its breasts growing like

a woman's, which they consider a deformity. For a cradle the Cochimís

take a forked stick or bend one end of a long pole in the form of a

hoop, and fix thereto a net, in which the infant is placed and covered

with a second net. It can thus be carried over the shoulder, or when the

mother wishes to be relieved, the end of the pole is stuck in the

ground, and nourishment given the child through the meshes of the net.

When old enough the child is carried astride on its mother's shoulders.

As soon as children are able to get food for themselves, they are left

to their own devices, and it sometimes happens that when food is scarce

the child is abandoned, or killed by its parents.[866]

[Sidenote: LOWER CALIFORNIAN FEAST.]